How my lucid dreams work - Stage choices

Lucid dreams are dreams where you are conscious and aware that you are currently in a dream setting. However, the level of control and awareness I have in my dreams are quite varied. Over time, I categorized the different models of my lucid dreams according to how well I am able to influence the storyline.

"Stage choices" is a model where I retain partial self-awareness and have limited control over the storyline. Throughout the dream, there are times when I would have to make a choice, e.g. where should I go today or what should I eat for lunch? Each choice creates a node in the storyline where it branches out into many possibilities on how the story may develop. I am aware at this point that my choice will affect what I experience in my dream AND what lies at the end of each storyline. It is a fully conscious choice of what I wish to experience. Each node is also a save point where I can return to if I decide that I do not like the way the story is progressing or I have reached the end of a storyline but still have time to sleep.

It gets more complicated. "Stage choices" can be further categorized as multiple-choice settings with fixed options for me to choose from, and open-ended settings where I can create any number of 'possibility branches' from each node and stay on the node until I find a storyline that I am satisfied with. Now that I think about it, especially for the multiple-choice settings, this sounds a lot like an interactive story game.

My awareness that this is a dream often only happens at the nodes and not when I am experiencing the dream itself. I do love this temporary off-switch from reality as everything I live through in the story feels so real. My consciousness is not about to discount any part of my dream by reminding me that whatever I'm feeling and the emotions I'm savoring are all just a figment of my imagination.

A stage also acts as a "save point" where when the next time I enter this dream (think of it like the next time i open a book with a bookmark on it) I am able to continue the dream and explore other branches. Weirdly, I am not able to know what lies ahead in the dream when I wake up. But once I am back in the dreamscape, I remember every choice I made before and a general understanding of what I am about to choose. The experience is to enjoy the details as each scene unfolds.

This is one of my favourite types of lucid dreams, to be honest. It makes it fun, sort of like a treasure hunt!